VENICE CARNIVAL Venice Carnival — costumed festival held

VENICE CARNIVAL Venice Carnival - costumed festival held annually in Venice. The last day of the carnival - Fat Tuesday, followed by a forty-day fast before Easter.

HISTORY first mention of the carnival in Venice belongs to 1094, although the 18 -19 centuries masks carnivals were not. In 1162, in honor of the victory over the Patriarch of Aquileia festivities began on the Piazza San Marco. Presumably since then the Carnival has become an annual event.

After the fall of Venetian state the Emperor of Austria in 1797 banned the carnival. In the 19 th century attempts were made to revive this tradition, but it has not moved beyond private initiatives.

Only in 1979 the Italian government announced the resumption of the annual carnival, choosing this action means for the promotion of the history and culture of Venice. Every year in the city for a carnival gathers more than half a million tourists.

MASKS Venetian masks made of leather or papier-mache. The earliest masks were rather simple in design and were not used to conceal the face, and to create distance and the possibility of social contact is not equal.

Modern masks are painted by hand, using soil and gold leaf. They are decorated with feathers and jewels.

One of the most important events of the carnival is a competition for the best mask.

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